Federal funding for co-operative housing could be a game-changer for how we define and deliver affordable housing, according to this report. It finds that by integrating co-operative principles into policy and development frameworks, Australia could address housing challenges effectively, promote community resilience, and create more livable cities.

Framing the challenge of inclusion of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island communities within the co-operative and mutual enterprises (CME) sector in Australia, this report concludes that the sector has a huge opportunity to engage in transmission of the CME business model for the social and economic empowerment of Indigenous Australians.

This report is a call to action to demonstrate how targeted policy measures focused on enabling different forms of ownership, can increase diversity and choice in social services in Australia with positive outcomes for the quality and productivity of those services.

This paper discusses how co-operatives and mutuals sit alongside contemporary definitions and accreditation processes for social enterprise and the alignment between the objectives of social enterprise policymakers and the purpose of co-operative and mutual enterprises. The case study section, provided as an appendix, includes important examples of co-operative social enterprises owned by workers, consumers, producers...